Category Archives: interiors photography

Agree Realty photography

These images from the Agree Realty photography project that I did for Biddison Architecture are two of the more complicated interiors images that I produced as part of the overall project. This very stylish kitchen and dining space presented a couple of technical challenges. Number 1 was the blue LED lighting strip that runs the length of the far wall. When exposures were made based on the ambient light level of the room, the LEDs were well beyond the dynamic range of any camera sensor or film. Also, the intensity of the LEDs cast blue spill light throughout the room. While this looks very natural in person, in photographs this blue spill is exaggerated and becomes overwhelming, filling the space with blue light. The second challenge was to maintain detail in the dark wood on the refrigerator, lower cabinets, island and stools.

In order to properly expose the LEDs and avoid blue spill light from contaminating the neutral colors of the space I used multiple captures. First the room lights were turned off and captures were made for the blue LEDs. Next, the blue LEDs were turned off and captures were made with the room lights turned on. The final captures were made using flash to light the dark wood paneling and stools. A Gossen ColorPro 3F color meter and a color checker were used during image capture to insure accurate color rendering. All captures were color balanced in Adobe Lightroom before final compositing in Photoshop. In post production we restored just enough of the blue reflections and spill light to provide a realistic look.

Biddison Architecture did a great job in transforming a tired and dated building into a beautiful and comfortable headquarters for Agree Realty. Biddison Architecture received an AIA Detroit Honor Award for the Agree Realty headquarters project.

Interior photography of Haworth reception area

Two interior photographs of the of the reception area at One Haworth Center in Holland, Michigan. Both of these photographs were shot on the same evening during a three-day interior and exterior photography shoot. The 2 photographs were taken about an hour apart during a period when I was exploring the reception area for interesting images. This was a great project for an interior photographer! It is a beautiful and interesting building and I was given full, unrestricted 24-hour access to the space during the three days that I was shooting there.

Because Haworth is know for the quality and design of their office furniture, it was only natural that the design of their new facility reflect that same sense of high quality and cutting edge design. Turner Construction and Perkins+Will Architects worked together to produce and incredible workspace that is as beautiful as it is functional. Photography by architectural photographer Curt Clayton. ClaytonStudio.com

University of Michigan Cook Law Library Reading Room

My interior photography project at the University of Michigan Cook Law Library Reading Room began with a series of “before” photographs for the architects. We spent a full day photographing the main reading room from different angles and also photographing the building’s lower level corridor and offices and public spaces in adjacent Hutchins Hall.

When the renovation work (by Lord Aeck Sargent Architects) was completed one year later, my assistant and I returned and spent another day on the interior photography of the beautifully redone space. The transformation was amazing. The magnificent ceiling had been cleaned and new uplighting was installed that illuminated the ceiling. Tables and reading lamps were all refurbished and new high efficiency bulbs were installed in the reading lamps. To ease eyestrain caused by hours of reading, the overall room illumination was raised which lowered the contrast between the ambient light levels and the reading lamps on the tables. Raising the overall illumination also helped reveal the beautiful details in the woodwork and ceiling. Replacing the old cork floor with new cork also helped to brighten the space and return the reading room to its original beauty. As an interior photographer, projects don’t get much better than this! Photography by architectural photographer Curt Clayton. ClaytonStudio.com

This interior photography project was done several years back but it’s interesting for a couple of reasons. Dr. Russell Craig, the owner of Aviora Medical Spa 20 miles north of Detroit in Clinton Township, Michigan, is a board certified plastic surgeon. He also designed Aviora Medical Spa, has his own line of skin care and beauty products under the Aviora name and he runs triathlons in his spare time. At the time of the photo shoot Dr. Craig had just been informed that he had qualified for the Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii. Can you say “over achiever”?

My assistant and I began the interior photography after the spa had closed for the day. Dr. Craig, who takes an active role in all aspects of his business, was with us the entire time to approve camera angles and to help with propping the rooms for photography.

The lighting in the spa is quite nice and we needed very little supplemental lighting for this project. A couple of the views required the use of a Lowel Fren-L 650 and a Lowel DP with a silver umbrella for fill, but for the most part the lighting was very simple. We wanted to keep the mood of the lighting just as Dr. Craig had designed. For an interior photographer, this was a very different and interesting project.

Interior photography at Zurich Insurance Canada

Interior photography often has many more complications than just composition and lighting. One of the biggest issues facing a photographer of a commercial interior space is the use of the space. Who will be occupying the space and will they be receptive to a photographer and assistant setting up cameras and lights while people are trying to work?

In the case of the Toronto offices of Zurich Insurance Canada, they had several floors of a major downtown building redone for their new Canadian head office. With the expense of the build out and the associated costs of moving all of their people and equipment, they wanted to get back to work ASAP!

In this case we were very fortunate. Turner Construction, the General Contractor on the project, had a very good relationship with the people at Zurich and we were allowed to come in late in the afternoon (after business hours) and photograph their interior space. I would have liked to schedule the photography to take advantage of the spectacular views afforded by this building in Toronto’s financial district, but an architectural photographers responsibility is to make the best of whatever situation presents itself. I always keep in mind that we are in the space at the sole discretion of the people working there.